This invention relates generally to wear sensing, and more particularly to methods and systems for optical wear sensing.
Electrical cables that are subjected to vibrations or other movements are often susceptible to chafing damage. Such chafing damage can expose or sever the electrical wires of such cables, resulting in electrical shorts, arcing, and loss of functionality. When such damage is caused to critical electrical cables, such as those utilized in flight control systems of aircraft, catastrophic consequences, including loss of aircraft and life, can result.
Known electrical cables are sometimes used with load bearing products, such as grommets, fluid lines, line supports, etc. For example, aircraft may include a plurality of bulkheads through which electrical cables are passed. Holes in bulkheads enable cables to pass therethrough, but known bulkhead holes contribute to chafing damage. Accordingly, a load bearing product may be used with the hole to protect the electrical cable, however, such load bearing products are also subject to wear, chafing, and failure.
Known load bearing products are typically inspected and replaced as part of routine maintenance. However, because such load bearing products are used throughout an aircraft, many load bearing products are difficult to inspect and/or replace.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system that facilitates continuous wear sensing of load bearing products. Moreover, there is a need for a sensing system that can both provide advance notice of impending load bearing product failure and communicate with a prognostic system to predict overall system health in deeply-buried system components such as aircraft wiring, fuel or hydraulic lines, etc.